Missing Pieces
by R21
Summary: What happened when Darien ran away from Jess at the end? Now we know .. sort of


Greetings! This small story was a challenge that was sent to me after I wrote "Goodbye". Basically, it is told in something of flashback form. We all wanted to know what happened when Darien ran away from Jessica to when he appeared sitting on the rock formation. I have attempted to fill in the blanks, as it were. This is Darien's POV, I am also working on the same angle from Hobbes' POV. Enjoy!!

Missing Pieces

R2

Disclaimer : Assume the position, you know the routine, TPTB own all characters, rights, royalties, first born children yadda yadda yadda. No money exchanged hands, at least .. not for the story wicked laugh 

Spoiler : Ralph 

Rating : PG -- one instance of language 

Darien sat on the rock formation, his knees drawn up to his chest and his muscular arms wrapped around his legs. HIs head was partially bowed and his eyes were closed as he tried to sort out the tangled mess his emotions had become. He had been sitting on the formation since early this morning, waiting and hoping that Jessica would come by. With each passing hour, he began to lose a little more hope. He had tried to go back and talk to her last night after he had been "fixed up", to try and explain what had happened to him, but she wouldn't even look at him. Not that he could blame her, she had watched her best friend turn into a horrible red-eyed monster. When Darien realized that his words were falling on frightened, deaf ears, he had told Jessica that he would wait for her at "his" home, when she was ready to talk. 

And wait for her he had, he wasn't ready to give up, not yet. He had to be sure, _needed _to be sure, he had not completely destroyed a young child's faith. Darien sighed heavily in frustration and un-wrapped his hands just long enough to run his fingers through his hair and rub his tired eyes. He didn't remember most of what happened yesterday, but the pieces he could recall filled him with pain and sorrow. Darien wrapped his arms back around his legs and rested his head on the tops of his knees, letting his mind drift ... 

__

'Ralph, stop! He's not a monster, he's a man!'

He would've snapped Anders' neck, he had wanted too. It would've been so easy, like a dry twig. But those tiny hands on his arm, those big blue eyes had stopped him cold. The razor sharp claws of madness had been digging into his brain as he had lifted his scarlet eyes to glare at her. Darien would never forget the look of abject horror on Jessica's face as she saw him, as blue eyes met red. That memory would forever be burned onto his consciousness.

__

'What's wrong with you?' 

__

'Get away from me'

He had first ordered, and then pleaded. He had not wanted her to see him that way, a friend turning into a monster. She had been too stunned to move, as if fear had bolted her to the spot where she was kneeling. He had finally managed to roll away from her, summoning all of his remaining will to getting shakily to his feet and putting as much distance between them as he could. Things started to get hazy and blurred at that point as the madness had slowly tried to destroy him from within. He remembered running until he collapsed in pain and fear, remembered trying to beat the demon back and the horror that came with the realization that he was not going to win. He vaguely recalled the image of his partner hovering over him, like some kind of surreal angel. Hobbes had spoken to him, words of encouragement, as he had somehow managed to get the slowly worsening Darien into the back of the company van. 

There was a small noise and Darien glanced up, hope swelling in his chest. A small animal crossed slowly in front of him, glancing at him quizzically before scooting away. His face fell and he sighed again, the sun was beginning to sit low in the sky. The Keeper would be getting worried. 

Hobbes had hauled ass back to the Agency and the Keeper where Darien had received his shot of counteragent, barely in time he had heard the woman mumble. Details would probably never be completely coherent, madness could to that to you, all Darien knew was that he had been on the brink of the abyss, he had gazed into the gaping maw of insanity before the needle in his arm had yanked him back. Could he test Fate like that again and win? How long could he keep walking this razor's edge without a safety net? What happened if Hobbes wasn't around next time? Or the Keeper? He shuddered at the thought and absently rubbed the back of his neck, it was becoming a habit. 

Once the raging demon had been placed back in its box, Darien had insisted that he needed to go and see Jessica, needed to explain. His Keeper had insisted that he needed to rest and recover, that he had come too close. After a heated discussion that had culminated in the exchange of angry words, Darien had stormed out of the lab, snatched the van keys away from a stunned Hobbes and roared over to Jessica's house. Where he had been greeted with the cold shoulder. Again, he didn't blame her, how could he? That was why he was sitting here, waiting. If she didn't show up today, then he would try again tomorrow. 

There was the sound of rustling footsteps and Darien glanced up again, he couldn't stop the smile that came when he saw the small figure emerge from the brush. Jessica was clad in a white-on-green tie-dye outfit and her short blond hair was being held back by two small barrettes. Darien was glad she had come, he wanted to remember her this way, not the terrified child from the day before. 

"Hey," he said gently, "I was kind of hoping you'd stop by"

At first, Jessica could not look at him in the eye, it was as if she were afraid of what she might see. A memory of yesterday's nightmare. She swatted at a strand of blond hair that was being blown about by the light breeze. 

"Well, Ralph, I've been thinking," she began, her voice timid and unsteady. "I'm going into the third grade this year and I'm going to have a lot of homework, and Doctor Fran said ..." she trailed off as she glanced up at him, not knowing what she wanted to say, but knowing it had to be said. "And Sarah Hazel's mom called my mom, 'cause she heard about what happened and all, and I talked to Sarah. And she's gonna come over and she's gonna bring Laurie Needleberg and we're gonna play Hungry Hungry Hippos"

Darien watched as Jessica's uneasiness slowly transformed into excitement. He bit his lip as he watched the joy in her blue eyes, remembering the time when he had been the one who had put that joy there. 

Jessica fiddled with her hair again, "And I think I'm going to give you the key, so you can get in by yourself. Is that okay?" 

Darien felt as if he had been punched in the gut. Here he had thought that when he saw Jess again he would have to tell her that he had to go away, that he had to go and help some other kid. He had never expected the shoe to be on the other foot. He was surprised at how much her statement pained him. Like a knife to his soul. 

"Yeah," he finally managed, keeping his voice carefully neutral, "yeah, sounds like a very grownup thing to do."

Jess smiled a bit in relief, glad that her friend understood. "I mean, I'm sure you'll find another kid to play with," she said, trying to make him feel better. "You're really fun, trust me"

Darien had to smile a bit at the statement, he'd been called many things in his life, but 'fun' had never been one of them. "I trust you," he told her.

He watched as she slowly made her way to the front of the formation, the gold key she always wore gripped in her bandaged right hand. After a moment, Darien hopped off of his perch and went to stand behind her. Jess went through the motions of opening the front door before removing the key and holding it out to him. Her blue eyes were bright with unshed tears and her lower lip was quivering. Darien wanted to tell her that she didn't have to do this. That things could stay the way they were, but he knew that would be untrue. He had his own path that he had to follow, and Jessica had her whole life ahead of her. This was for the best, for both of them.

"Goodbye Ralph"

Darien felt as if all the strength in his knees had suddenly abandoned him as he gazed down at the young girl who had, for just a few days, been his best friend. She would never know just how painfully her words had hit home. He took the key from her and fell heavily to his knees in front of her, dropping to her eye level. 

"Goodbye Jessica"

She fell into his arms and Darien wrapped her up in his embrace, wishing for all the world that he could halt time and freeze this moment forever. He was amazed that this eight-year-old had been able to find and touch feelings in him that he had believed to be long dead. It had only been a few days, but Darien knew that he would never forget Jessica Semplar. 

She pulled away from the hug and Darien got heavily to his feet. He went to stand in front of the rock formation as she slowly began to walk away. "Okay," she said sadly, her blue eyes swimming as she gazed at him for the last time, "you can go in now." Darien gazed at her for a few moments, his emotions raging a war within him. This was the moment of truth, the moment when Ralph would have to go away and let Jessica go. What was it the Keeper had told him? Control his emotions and practice his biofeedback? 

Taking a deep breath and shoving his hands into his pockets, Darien felt the familiar tickle of the quicksilver beginning to coat his skin, the point of no return. As his vision turned a monotone silver, Darien watched as Jessica choked back a sob before quietly turning and walking away. It felt as if his very heart would break, but he kept his place and let her go. 

He may have given her magic, he realized as he fingered the gold key he held in his hand and watched her slowly disappear from sight, but she had given him faith. Faith in the human spirit, and more importantly, faith in himself. 

the end

At this point you can probably insert "Goodbye", since it seems to fit so well.


End file.
